From Grass to Grace - Chapter 2
16-09-25 (13:19)
**Episode 2: The Price of Kindness**
Six years passed, and Amanda
grew into a beautiful child with
bright, inquisitive eyes and a spirit
that refused to be dimmed. But the
gilded cage of the Hawthorne
mansion came at a price.
While Richard and Albert, Eleanor's
biological sons, were showered
with affection and opportunities,
Amanda was treated more like a
servant than a daughter. She was
expected to be grateful, to be quiet,
to be invisible.
Her days began before dawn, with
the clatter of pots and pans in the
kitchen. She prepared breakfast for
the entire household, her small
hands struggling to lift heavy
skillets and pour steaming coffee.
After breakfast, she cleaned the
house, scrubbing floors, polishing
furniture, and emptying ashtrays,
her small frame aching with
exhaustion.
Richard, now a spoiled teenager,
delighted in tormenting her. He
would leave messes for her to
clean, hide her belongings, and
whisper cruel things in her ear. "You
don't belong here, you know," he
would sneer. "You're just a charity
case. A little street rat."
Albert, younger and more sensitive,
often felt a pang of guilt at
Amanda's treatment. He would
occasionally offer her a kind word
or a small gesture of help, but he
was too afraid of his mother's
disapproval to do more.
One afternoon, Amanda was
tasked with polishing the silver.
Mrs. Eleanor, impeccably dressed
and radiating an air of
condescension, watched her closely.
"Be careful with the sterling," she
warned. "It's very valuable. And try
not to smudge it with your dirty
little hands."
Amanda bit back a retort and
continued polishing, her fingers
growing numb. She longed to be
outside, playing with the other
children in the neighborhood, but
she knew that such simple
pleasures were not for her.
Later that evening, after a long day
of chores, Amanda crept into the
kitchen, her stomach rumbling with
hunger. She hadn't eaten since
breakfast, and the aroma of the
roasted chicken that Mrs. Eleanor
had prepared for dinner filled the air.
She reached for a small piece of
bread, but a sharp voice stopped
her. "What do you think you're
doing?" Mrs. Eleanor demanded, her
eyes narrowed. "That's for the
family. You'll eat your leftovers."
Amanda's face flushed with
humiliation. She quietly took a plate
of cold, greasy vegetables and
retreated to her small, sparsely
furnished room.
As she lay in bed that night, her
stomach aching with hunger and
her heart heavy with sadness, she
wondered if she would ever truly
belong. Was she destined to spend
her life in servitude, forever
indebted to the woman who had
rescued her from the trash? Was
the price of kindness always so
high?
Exhausted, she fell asleep on the
cold hard floor, dreaming of a
mother's love, a love that seemed
forever out of reach. Don't forget to leave a Comment 
